What Year Was It In Testing?

Tapping into Leadership Potential

Work in schools for a couple of decades and you cannot help but see the correlation between effective schools and teacher leadership. A study from 2009 shows that administrators who seek out and develop this leadership "in very deliberate ways to ensure high levels of student learning" lead successful schools. The article from Education Week TEACHER, Potential Leaders Are All Around Us, discusses the findings from this study and points out that most successful teachers do NOT seek out leadership roles until an invitation is made. The implications of this finding is that much of the talent goes untapped. Something to think about....

Collaborative Planning in Elementary Schools

Teachers and administrators at Forest Lake Elementary not only plan lessons together, but they are building a strong professional support network.

Reasons for Writing in the Math and Science Classroom

I found this post from Dr. Judy Willis, Summer PD: The Brain-Based Benefits of Writing for Math and Science Learning pretty enlightening. Dr. Willis lays out the benefits of student writing from a nuerological standpoint. Writing helps the brain to develop "executive functions" such as "judgment, critical analysis, induction, deduction, delay of immediate gratification for long-term goals, recognition of relationships (symbolism, conceptualization), prioritizing, risk assessment, organization, [and] creative problem solving." Writing about math and science can also help students "input" the information into memory in such a way that it is easier to retrieve later by helping the student categorize and organize the content. Using reflection prompts can also aid in the retrieval process by adding a personal connection. The blog also explains how anxiety over answering questions in class can physically block the content from reaching long term memory. Willis offeres the idea of using written responses, using "code names" in class, to help ease the anxiety and allow for more active participation.

I know that research shows that the use of interactive notebooks really help students. This article just reaffirms this to me. The problem that I have consistently run into, however, is the practical implementation of the notebooks in the classroom. Teachers, whose opinion I highly value, have all told me time and time again that the use of the notebooks filter out over time. And, they are honest enough to share that it is simply because they do not have the kind of time necessary to keep up with them. If the teachers' responses to the writing are not timely, the students begin to lose interest and the value is lost. I am going to have to investigate some of the new google applications. Perhaps student chat groups reacting to responses to math and science content or concepts may help with this.... something else to explore and consult with others about!

Wordle

I am loving this application at http://www.wordle.net/. I am trying to come up with some ideas for its use in elementary math classes. I have thought about topics such as problem solving, geometry, math anxiety, etc. Any other ideas?

This is an example created from the words from my first post in this blog. Very fun to play with. The kids will love it!

How Important is Intuition in Problem Solving?

The Complete Method of Problem Solving, at http://www.problemsolving.net/ps7-1of4-intuition.html, lists intuition one of "major problem solving strategies." The guide discusses what intuition is, what it does for our problem solving process, how to develop better problem solving intuition, and what the "peril[s]" may be when intuition without justification is used to solve problems. Interesting read that gives me more license to continue surfing the web to help my intuition development! :)

Skyping to Solve a Problem

This is a great article about using Skype in the classroom to enhance instruction. I particularly love the idea of the kids skyping with other kids in different schools. Instead of using partners in their own class to help solve a challenging math problem, how about partnering the kids with other students from a different school?! We know the benefits of getting kids to vocalize their thinking during the problem solving process. This would be a great incentive for them. http://www.tech4ed.com/2011/06/15/5-ways-to-use-skype/#comment-180

Problem Solving for All Students

I read this article tonight and had to share. The article examines some of the difficulties experienced by our LD math students with problem solving and proposes specific strategies to address those issues. As in most cases, when I read great ideas on how to help our ESL or our at-risk kids, I thought about how the same strategies would help all of the students in the class. I like the way the author, Dr. Marjorie Montague, Ph.D., gives specific examples of modeling/think alouds. I also love the idea that she proposes about how the "resource" teacher and the regular classroom teacher can work together to reach the needs of both the LD kids and the low performing students. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/MathPrblSlving_upperelem.asp

Welcome to A Littel Elementary Math Blog

I am starting this blog to be a better and more effective communicator to those teachers and strategists with whom I work. In my recent experience as an elementary Math and Science teacher as well as a campus Math/Science strategist, I understand the constraints that classroom teachers are under with respect to time for professional growth and networking. My hope is that this blog will become a centralized place to which I might be able to direct teachers and strategists in order to address particular concerns or interests.

I am learning that teachers and strategists have more in common than not, and that we can all benefit from the communication. My goal is to actively pursue and share my thoughts on relevant and thought provoking professional books and articles that may benefit teachers. I will also consistently look for and highlight good instructional practices that may help others. But most importantly, my goal will be to provide a place where teachers and strategists can meet and share ideas that will in the end lead to stronger math students.